“Musee des Beaux Arts” by W.H. Auden artistically orchestrates to his audience some unfortunate realities of everyday people. In the poem “Musee des Beaux Arts” the audience can grasp imagery of how people proceed through their “busy” life and ignore fellow people who suffer. Although the painting of Icarus falling into the sea was a past artwork that “Musee des Beaux Arts” was based off of, Auden universalized the truth that this poem was presenting. The truth that tragedy and suffering occur in life and life moves forward.

The tone of Auden in the poem matches the description of the subject or point in time Auden is referring to. An example of Auden’s tone articulately changing to match the mood of a subject is his statements are: “While